Child's kidneys transplanted to adult

Wednesday, 6 January 1999 ABC Online News

Surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital have taken two kidneys from a child, fused them together and transplanted them to an adult.

The hospital says the patient is recovering well after the three-hour operation, which took place late last year. The kidneys were about four centimetres in length, or about one-third the size of an adult's kidneys.

The hospital's Allison Sloan says the operation is rare, and is only done as a last resort.

"There were no other options available for this particular patient, and certainly no other young people that were a suitable match to the available kidneys, so the next option is to take the pair, join them together to make them function as one adult," Ms Sloan said.

"They will grow as well, so they will hopefully, long term, provide a better quality of life or for the recipient."